Breathless, they slackened their pace to a walk and talked over what had happened. In a worried tone, Biff said:
“They must have seen us or they wouldn’t have fired after us. I hope they didn’t know who we were.”
“More likely,” observed Kamuka seriously, “I think they don’t know what we were.”
“You mean they mistook us for some jungle animals?”
“Why not? We were gone quick—pouf! Maybe we were gone quicker than sucuria.”
By “sucuria” Kamuka meant the anaconda. He was referring to the giant water boa by its more popular Brazilian name. Kamuka’s comment brought a smile from Biff.
“I wonder if they shot the anaconda,” he speculated, “or whether it managed to get away.”
“Perhaps Luiz will tell us,” rejoined Kamuka, grinning, “when he gets back to our camp.”
“If Luiz ever gets back there at all!”
The boys lost no time in getting back to camp themselves. There, they told Mr. Brewster and Mr. Whitman all that had happened.